Crimson Heir
by S.R. Winchester
Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master into a vampire. AlucardOC Complete!
1. Cora Malandra Hellsing

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: An image of Cora Malandra Hellsing as she grows up (remove spaces): http://i22. photobucket. com/albums/b305 /Suzaku18/Avatars/ Dolls/cora1.png

Chapter One: Cora Malandra Hellsing

Sir Integra Windgates Hellsing waited impatiently by the airport terminal for the 11:55 from Canberra. The flight was an hour late, and the Hellsing organizer detested being kept waiting, especially on such an occasion. The child she had adopted from Australia was due to arrive that day, and she was (dare she admit it?) eager to return to Hellsing Organization Headquarters with her new heir. Alucard and Walter had not been all for the adoption of another Hellsing, but they remained silent and left Integra to her own devices in terms of the Australian child.

"Flight 162 from Canberra, Australia, has arrived at Gate 12."

The announcement couldn't have come as a more welcome sound to Integra. She turned toward the terminal, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Let's get a move-on," she muttered, grinding her teeth together. With an annoyed shake of her blonde head, Integra's piercing blue eyes were cleared of her hair. She saw a young girl, approximately six years in age, walking down the dark passage and dragging a dark red carry-on behind her. Attached to her left hand was a flight attendant, who carried her other bag and a large, worn teddy bear. Integra recognized the child immediately, from the black hair to the shining blue eyes.

"Integra Hellsing?" the flight attendant inquired.

"I am," confirmed the other woman.

"This would be your adoptee. Can you say hello to Miss Hellsing?" the woman asked the child sweetly.

"There will be time for that later," Integra said tersely, taking the girl by the hand. "Thank you for seeing that she made it here safely." She retrieved the larger suitcase and walked toward the exit without a backward glance. She could feel the girl struggling to keep up with her stride.

Once in the car with Walter at the wheel, Integra faced the frightened child in the seat beside her. "Did you have a name before you came here?" she inquired.

With a jump, the girl nodded. "Avis Gorria."

"Red bird," Walter said absently from the front of the car.

"No longer," Integra said, placing an octagonal locket around the young one's neck. "As I have adopted you, it is by my decision that your name will be changed. You are now Cora Malandra Hellsing. You understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Cora said, hugging her teddy bear.

"You are now the heir of the Hellsing Organization. You will be taught to fight Undead abominations in the name of God and Her Majesty. You will learn to protect yourself and others from these vampiric FREAKs. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" whimpered young Cora.

The car pulled up into the courtyard of the Hellsing Headquarters, prompting Integra to exit, Cora behind her. She paused to observe the repairs being made to the old mansion and felt a small hand slide into hers. Cora was staring up in wide-eyed amazement, looking overwhelmed by the change in her life that had taken only a few hours by plane. Integra gave the six-year-old a smile and turned to Walter.

"Walter," Integra said, "take Cora upstairs to my office. I need a word with Fargason."

"Of course, Sir Integra. Right away." Walter held his hand down to the child.

In Integra's office, Cora stood stock still, staring up with wide eyes. It immediately occurred to Walter that Cora may have never seen a room that size before. He watched her for a moment before kneeling beside her. "I hope you are quite comfortable here, Miss Cora. I am Walter Dornez."

Cora nodded and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

The aging man smiled at her and shook the offered hand. "As it is to meet you, Miss Cora. I am the Hellsing family butler. If there is anything you require, please do not hesitate to ask."

Cora looked suddenly to the bookshelf and stepped behind Walter, pointing. The butler guided his attention to the area that had startled her and sighed. "Master Alucard, you really must stop coming through the walls like that. Sir Integra has expressed her vexations of your habit before."

The vampire simply grinned at the shaking figure behind his long-time friend. He stepped through the bookshelf, replacing his red, broad-brimmed hat over his shoulder-length black hair. Red eyes leered out at Cora from behind their yellow sunglasses. The massive amount of red he wore was startling to a child who had grown up among light colors in Australia.

"Is this the girl Integra adopted?" the vampire inquired, walking around Walter. This, of course, caused Cora to run around the human shield, playing a sort of one-sided cat-and-mouse.

"Yes," Walter replied, finally picking up the girl to "rescue" her from Alucard. "This is she. Cora, this is a Hellsing agent as well, just as Fargason and I are. This is Alucard. Alucard, this is Cora Malandra Hellsing."

"A pleasure," Alucard said levelly, lowering his head to his younger master.

"H-How do you do?" Cora squeaked.

"Any order Cora gives you," Integra said as she entered the office, "is to be obeyed as if I gave it myself. Understand, Alucard?"

The vampire nodded. "Yes, master."

Cora was placed on the floor in front of her mother and the bear snuggly in her arms. Integra pushed her forward toward Alucard. "You cannot be afraid of him, Cora. He is a vampire, one of the strongest ever produced. We face far weaker ones. He is an ally."

Cora nodded. "Yes, Mother," she responded obediently. She held up a little hand to Alucard, fingers shaking a little. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alucard," she said, careful to meld her harsh Australian accent into the gentler one of the British.

Alucard smirked, entertained at his younger master's show in spite of her fear. "The pleasure is mine, Master." He bowed, kneeling on the ground in front of her. As he raised his head, he saw her recoil a little at the look in his eyes. Fortunately, Integra knew it was his constant malice at the world around him and not toward her adoptive child.

"Walter," Sir Hellsing instructed, "take Cora to the room I've had prepared for her. See that she is unpacked, then get her a bite to eat."

"Yes, Sir Integra," the butler acquiesced. He took the girl by the hand and led her out of the office.

Alucard chuckled, the sound rumbling in the back of his throat. "She reminds me of someone."

"I do hope you don't mean me," Integra replied tersely as she seated herself behind the desk.

Alucard remained quiet for but a minute. "You chose a female," he noted. "She will not keep the Hellsing name if she marries. You know that."

"I intend to be sure she does."

"How?"

"What can't a parent instill in a child anymore?" Integra inquired. "I will find a way, Alucard. Mark my words."


	2. Alexander Anderson

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: After the surprising response to Chapter One, I feel emboldened to continue. I thank the five reviewers who commented on my first venture, and I assure them that I will not disappoint them. Pardon Anderson's lack of accent, but if I can't wrap my own tongue around something, it won't be in my writing. Besides, you can imagine it, right? Also, there _has_ been a time-jump, so be wary how you read.

Chapter Two: Alexander Anderson

Cora Hellsing stepped out of the car that had picked her up at the airport and smoothed her knee-length navy skirt. It was her first visit to the Vatican alone; Integra had sent her to meet the man who was probably Hellsing's greatest threat: Paladin Alexander Anderson. The steady click of her black heels on the stone floor of the building echoed eerily along the domed roof of the hall as she made her way inside. This was unstable ground; a Protestant in the heart of the Catholic church. Careful to straighten her white blouse, Cora paused under the huge dome in the center and waited. Enrico Maxwell knew she would be there.

The soft clack of low heels on the floor called the sixteen-year-old Hellsing's attention down a long passage. There was Mr. Maxwell, his long gray hair held back in a ponytail, and with an oily smirk on his face that she distrusted immediately. "Welcome to the Vatican, Miss Hellsing," he said smoothly, extending a hand congenially. "I trust your trip was enjoyable."

Squelching her disgust, Cora took the offered appendage. "How do you do?" she replied, not caring whether he was in perfect health or at death's door. Integra had warned her to be wary of the Iscariot Organization.

Maxwell kissed her hand gently, ignoring how quickly it was pulled away. "I suppose Sir Hellsing sent you here to meet Father Anderson. If you would follow me."

She followed the order, careful to keep mental track of where she walked in case a hurried escape was necessary. Granted, if that occurred, she was likely to leave her shoes behind her; however, she sincerely hoped the ceasefire would help avoid such an unhappy encounter. Maxwell led her up a flight of stairs, down a dimly lit hall, and up another flight. In his office – a large room flooded with sunlight from the uncovered windows – sat the tall figure Cora immediately knew to be Father Alexander Anderson. Her heart sped up, and the tips of her fingers went cold. She swallowed.

"Father Anderson," she greeted, dipping her head respectfully. Just who eluded her at the moment, but someone had once told her "Respect all, trust few."

The man looked at her and nodded. "Miss Hellsing." He rose to shake her hand.

"Miss Hellsing is here in truce to better understand the rivalry between the Vatican and the Hellsing Organization," Maxwell explained. "So please, go easy on her."

The statement gave Cora a chill up her spine, but Anderson offered her his arm. He looked genuinely interested in learning more about the Hellsing heir, so she took the offered arm with a smile. They walked together through the arched halls in amiable silence, neither feeling any threat from the other. Their echoing footsteps gave Cora a queer sense of unease, like there was something else watching them.

"So, you're Integra Hellsing's girl," Anderson finally said, looking down at her. "Couldn't get an exact Aryan from Australia?"

"I beg you pardon?" Cora glanced self-consciously at the lock of black hair falling just next to her right eye. "I'm sure Mother wasn't looking for a clone when she adopted me. Just close enough a match to convince others I am her daughter."

Anderson laughed heartily, picking up on the subtle joking in the Hellsing's tone. "You have wit, Miss Hellsing," he said jovially. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen," she replied. "I will turn seventeen early in July."

They had reached the courtyard that was encircled by pillars, the front of Saint Peter's Basilica. Images of armies storming these very steps flashed before Cora's eyes as she paused a moment, breathless, at the top of the stairs. The city spread before her like a carpet or stone and structure. Anderson found himself pleased with her reaction.

"Don't have much like this in England, do you?" he inquired as she lowered herself to sit on the stone stairs.

"I admit that we certainly don't." Cora clenched her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. She looked up at Anderson, trying to decipher him a bit; his motives, feelings, concerns.

Anderson laughed as she suddenly jumped and dug into her jacket pocket for her ringing cell phone. "Yes, Mother?" she answered, poised as if ready to leap off a steep cliff. "Yes? Yes, ma'am. Yes, I should be leaving here soon. Yes, ma'am. Goodbye, Mother." She hung up and rose from her seat. "Mother wants me to report back to the hotel and begin the work she gave me before I left."

"It was a pleasure, Miss Hellsing," Anderson said, kissing her offered hand.

"The pleasure was mine," she assured him and quickly descended the stairs into the plaza. She hurried across the pillared courtyard and into a taxi, which drove off as Anderson watched.

The Paladin frowned slightly a few minutes later as he returned to his room. He had seen Cora's disgust when Maxwell was speaking, and there was a clear red glint in her eyes. It made him uneasy.


	3. Disaster in Vatican City

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: Congrats! You've made it to Chapter Three! Here, things will actually get going. That is, I hope so.

Chapter Three: Disaster in Vatican City

Cora received a call from her mother later that night. She was sitting at the desk in her Hilton hotel room, making an entry in her computer journal, when her cell phone rung from inside her jacket as it had earlier that day. Integra had been edgy about her being on her own at St. Peter's Basilica with the Iscariot Organization.

"I'm fine, Mother," Cora assured her. "Father Anderson didn't antagonize me at all. Though I admit Enrico Maxwell..."

"What did he do to you?" Integra growled.

"Nothing, Mother," the younger replied. "I swear it. He just... He frightens me a little. He makes me feel as if he's about to molest me."

Integra breathed a sigh of relief. "I've sent Alucard to meet you," she told her daughter. "He should arrive soon."

"Why?"

"You're to be in Vatican City for a few days more. We've gotten reports of FREAK activity in the area, so Alucard is going to let you lead on this mission. If he feels you are hesitant, he will take over and do as he pleases."

"Yes, Mother." Cora looked at the door, where there had been a soft knock. "I have to go now, Mother. Someone's at the door."

"That should be Alucard. Sleep well, Cora."

"Good night." Cora shut the black phone and walked to the door. Standing in the hallway was a black dog with eight glowing red eyes. She smiled, knelt, and withdrew the cross from its mouth. "It's good to see you, Alucard. Come inside. I trust you've stowed your coffin somewhere close." She rose and let the dog bound past. Before it reached her bed, however, it had changed into Alucard, who was replacing his hat on his head.

"My master is sending it by plane tomorrow."

Cora nodded and shut the door. "What can you tell me about the FREAKs here?" she asked, moving to lounge on the bed.

"Your run-of-the-mill vampire knock-offs," he responded. "Sir Hellsing really had no reason to send me for a few days to protect you, Miss Hellsing."

"Alucard," Cora said, brushing her ebony hair back and fixing him with an annoyed stare, "I've told you before to call me Cora. The 'sirs' and 'misses' get a tad annoying."

"My apologies."

"You do have a supply of donated blood, don't you?" she asked as she rolled slightly onto her side to see him better.

"Yes."

"Then do as you please," Cora said. "It's too late for me. We'll see what we can learn about the ghouls and FREAKs tomorrow."

She was already drifting off, so Alucard reached out and put out the lights. He lifted the blankets over his younger master's shoulders and leaned down until his breath whispered across her ear. "Good night, Cora."

The next night, Cora having napped during the day to prepare, the two set off through the streets. Cora had dressed herself sensibly in worn blue jeans and gray stained T-shirt, leaving her feet in dirty sneakers. Alucard, who never seemed to change his clothes anyway, wore his usual red and black. In Cora's pocket rested a Walther P99 semiautomatic with a full clip. Life in the Hellsing Organization had taught her one thing which she enjoyed above the others: always carry a weapon.

"Are you sensing anything, Alucard?" the young Hellsing asked passively somewhere past midnight. There was no reply. "Alucard?" She stopped and looked around. The district was silent and still, and it raised the hair on the back of Cora's neck. Chills ran down her spine. "Alucard?"

"Dunno 'oo that is, luv," slurred a voice behind her, obviously British and thus a stalker or transplant, "but I've got th'roight moind ta show ya a goooooood time."

She spun around, her hand grasping in her pocket to get her gun, and saw – plain as day – a pair of white fangs descending toward her. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen," she muttered as she shot him, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. She sensed something else around her and her eyes glinted red as she looked carefully into the doorways and windows.

"ALUCARD!" she shouted just seconds before a bullet ripped through her chest.

The next few minutes were a bloodbath as her faithful guardian ripped the culprit and his ghouls apart, staining the ground scarlet. The veritable lakes of blood spilled into the gutters and down to the sewers, where the intensity dissipated. This Cora could see as she lay on the ground where she fell, the black hair spread around her like tainted water. It soon consumed her, and unconsciousness reigned.

"Cora? Cora, wake up!" It was Integra's worried voice she heard as she began to come to her senses. Alucard carefully brushed the hair from her face.

"She is awake, Master. But she is not long for your world."

Cora saw the pain clearly. "Alucard," she rasped, "make me... a vampire..."

"No!" Integra exclaimed. "Not for the world!"

"Think about it, Mother." The girl's voice was hoarse and growing quieter. "You won't have to worry about another heir. I can take care of Hellsing forever. I can do it easily, and it will never leave the family. I promise to not become one of the Undead which we kill."

"But, you'll be – "

"Eternally damned, I know, but I can redeem myself in the eyes of God. Please, Mother."

Alucard looked up at his senior master. "Should I?"

Integra swallowed hard, prayed Cora was right, and nodded. "Do it."

The penetration hurt, but Cora didn't make a sound. A little of Alucard's blood down her throat finished the pact, and she fell back into an unconscious doze. Integra covered her face with her hands and shivered violently. The vampire let her; he could understand the grief. No matter what she said, Cora was now tainted in the sight of God.


	4. The Reawakening

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: Hallelujah! You've made it to Chapter Four. Congratulations. Here, the romance part of this fanfic kinda picks up. Alucard's got the interesting predicament that his master is now his fledgling. I'm a string-of-consciousness writer, and I let the character leech into my head, so I'm not even sure how Alucard will react to situations until I type them. Also, the rating has gone up because of a decision I made a few nights ago. So, here's hoping things go well.

Chapter Four: The Reawakening

Clinically, Cora died early the following morning. Integra and Alucard (under the guise of Cora's fiancé) watched as her heartbeat weakened and breath slow. The clock struck 4:00 AM; that was when her heart monitor began its unbroken monotone. Integra – though not one for extravagant emotion – put her face in her hands and cried at the loss of her human daughter. A calm hand on her shoulder, Alucard carefully removed the IV and monitors from Cora's now limp body and placed a gentle hand on her cheek. Its companion abandoned Integra to her grief as it rested on Cora's abdomen.

"From a day existence to that of the night," he whispered to her gently. "It will not be an easy task, but my master has taught you well, and you can survive it, Cora Hellsing."

Cora was awake a little after moon-rise that night, having woken in her mother's suite in the hotel. After a drink of donated blood, she slid out into the city and walked toward the Basilica. Physically, she was unchanged from the morning with the exception of her eyes; they now blazed an almost demonic red. True, she had also changed her clothing because of the blood and gore that was permanent in the fabric now. Cora's figure – which had always been as close to flawless as could naturally be gotten – now seemed sinfully outlined in the knee-length red dress she had changed into, long legs ending in black pumps. She walked into the heart of the Catholic world and shut the door behind her.

"I know you're here, Father Anderson." Cora spoke quietly to the darkness. "I know you're disappointed in me."

Footfalls were picked up in her heightened senses, and she continued even as the priest came into view. "I'm tainted in the eyes of God now. I shouldn't have been able to cross the Basilica's threshold. But my hope is to redeem myself and regain my access to the gates of St. Peter." A single tear fell down her cheek. "I promise this."

As she was turning to leave, Anderson's large hand caught her shoulder. For a moment, there was silence. Then – "Go with God, Cora Hellsing."

Her new nocturnal existence had been adjusted to within ten days, and once back in England, Cora was stalking through the darkness with Alucard at her side. He was still as protective of his master as before, but now he acted more as a protector. The interaction with the two was difficult for Integra to watch; she could see sparks flying. Between the time dawn broke to the time the last blood red embers of sun died into night, Cora was in Alucard's room, being taught the more powerful of her abilities.

Then one morning, things took an unexpected turn.

Alucard slipped through the wall to his room, a direct copy of Seras Victoria's without the light and cheer, and smirked at the sight of Cora sitting on the lid of his coffin, her red eyes up on his face like those of a small child. He chuckled and pressed his hand into the small of her back, pushing her body closer. "Is something wrong with your own coffin?" he asked, his deep voice rumbling through her like thunder.

She shook her head, of course, and simply lay her head on his breast. She remained silent as his hand smoothed tiny circles in the dip of her back, then higher up her spine, and then lower again, toward the curve of her bum. Cora stiffened slightly, arching her back and biting her lip in fear.

"Nothing living can be conceived within an undead womb," he hissed in her ear, making her shudder more. He opened the coffin and set her inside as if tucking a child into bed, only he slid in beside her.

Cora shifted suddenly, sending herself sliding under Alucard's body. He looked down at her in complete amusement. "A sin on a Sunday, Miss Hellsing?" he taunted coolly, his long tongue playing across the shell of her ear. He relished in the shivers that ran across her body.

"Al-Alucard..." she stuttered, torn between pushing him away and submitting.

He smirked down at her through the darkness. The air smelled of coppery blood, which Cora felt would congeal in her lungs and suffocate her if she didn't move soon. She bit her lip and rested her forehead against his chest.

"A sin on a Sunday?" she rasped. "What's happening to me, Alucard? I'm suppose to be redeeming myself in the eyes of God, but I only seem to commit sin after sin. Am I true damned? Am I truly impure? Is there no way to save my soul?"

Alucard stroked her hair gently while his other hand undid the zipper in her dress. "Your God will forgive you," he murmured. "Surely He can understand that you are confused. Close your eyes, Cora. Relax and... enjoy."

Cora's lower lip quivered as his mouth descended to it, her hands and body shaking as her blue dress was peeled away from her skin. The feeling of his fangs pressing against her lips shocked her, but with many comforting words, she simmered down into the darkness of her master's coffin.

In her office, Integra felt a sudden chill across her body that disturbed her. The night was still, the air silent. Then, she picked up the sound of helicopter blades chopping at the air like the finest samurai swords.

"Something isn't right."


	5. On The Rise

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: Ah, chapter five. You've made it! And so have I! To clarify, yes; Cora and Alucard had sex in that coffin. I have no qualms about writing out those lemon scenes. So why didn't I? Well, I'm typing and updating from a school computer; I don't want to get in trouble for writing porn. However, if I can sneak onto the computer at home, I will write out a full scene for you. I'll also try to include more of Integra and the rest of the Organization. And thank you for bearing with me!

One more thing, this is Cora's dress in this chapter, minus the adjustments (delete the spaces): http/i139.photobucket. com/albums/q283/THEGhettoFerret48 /Anime20girls20with20white20hair/ minkdressredangelsword.jpg

Chapter Five: On The Rise

"Your aim is still off," Integra told her daughter coolly. "Try again."

Cora had already fired the same shot at least seven times, all nearly keyhole-shots to her mother's bull's-eye. However, she still seemed to be a few centimeters too far off for Integra's liking. Raising her gun – a Browning Hi-Power 9 mm dubbed Azrael by Walter – Cora stared forward to the target twenty meters away. "Mother, is this really necessary?" she asked as Azrael came down so she could check her ammunition. She felt her mother's glare on the back of her head, like an infected lesion.

"Yes, it's necessary. If you can't take ou't the vampire's heart – "

"One or two centimeters off-center will not make a difference, Mother!" Cora said hotly, slamming the magazine into Azrael so it clicked loudly into place.

"A vampire – even a FREAK – is a moving target, Cora!" Integra shouted back. "One or two centimeters will make every bit the difference! Especially since it's the only free shot you get!"

"It'll be impossible to make a keyhole in that case anyway!" The lead bullet was fired off as Cora's left hand squeezed the trigger. There was no sound of ripping paper, only a loud exclamation of "My God!" from Fargason.

Replacing the gun in its holster at her hips, Cora adjusted her low-rising black jeans and ran toward the man. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Fargason," she said. "Did I hit you?"

The balding soldier shook his head. "No, Miss Hellsing. You barely missed me."

"I'm so sorry."

"Check the target."

"What?"

He gestured to the paper target. Cora looked. Integra was inspecting the hole and following to where the bullet lodged in the wall. The vampire fledgling gulped as the red beam of a laser flickered into life. The mangled bullet was extracted from the wall of the shooting range and replaced with the laser. The red beam fell through the exact center of the ragged-edged hole in the paper.

"I believe," Fargason said slowly, "that is a perfect keyhole."

A hiss of relief escaped Cora as the beam was clicked off.

"Mother," she asked later that evening as she joined her mother in her bedroom (there was an event for which she had to be present, and Integra needed her to choose a dress), "are you angry about what I've become?"

Integra stopped flipping through the catalogue on her knees to look up at her child. "I was disappointed," she admitted. "It's unheard of for a vampire to run a holy organization. It seems like sacrilege. But, I invested too much into you to let you die. So, if you can redeem yourself in the eyes of God, so be it if you're a vampire."

Cora nodded absently as she joined Integra at the foot of her bed "What are you looking at, Mother?"

Integra handed her a copy of the catalogue. "I assume there are specifications to your choice."

Page after page flicked by without yielding anything that sparked Cora's interest; in fact, the embellishments, skirts, and collars appalled her. About the middle of the periodical, she paused and folded back the cover. The dress was red with tarnished gold-colored trim. It was floor-length like the ones prior to it, but it was straight, not flounced up with netting. There was two things – to Cora's chagrin – that Integra would not agree to; there were no sleeves, and the top dove to the center of her cleavage and went up five centimeters (about two inches) below her collarbone. It was still worth the shot.

"This one, Mother," she said, pointing with a black-painted nail. She tightened the belt of her robe as Integra took the catalogue back and looked over the selected dress.

"Walter could add sleeves," Integra muttered, casting Cora a glance. "And you do look uncomfortable wearing long sleeves on a dress."

"Too much fabric," was the reply with a shake of the head.

"All right," Sir Hellsing relented. "But let Walter add a strap or two."

"Yes, Mother!" Cora kissed her mother on the cheek, took the catalogue, and rushed out of the room.

By Halloween night two weeks later, Walter had obtained Cora's gown and sewn six strips of tarnished gold to the top of the neckline, though only two functioned as shoulder straps. The two lower strips on either side – falling at the crest of the shoulder and a few centimeters below it – served only as decoration. With Integra on Alucard's arm and Cora on Pip Bernadotte's, they entered the manor housing the event.

Cora immediately caught a severe chill down her spine. In the center of the room – loitering – was Enrico Maxwell. The smirk he wore was so fake it would have been comic had it not been aimed at her. Her hands clamped down on Pip's arm, and she turned her face away, trying to wipe her memory. Those weren't the footfalls coming toward her, there was no hand extending from his side, there was no –

"Miss Hellsing, I hardly expected to see you here." The oily voice terminated Cora's mental pleading and initiated her desire to rip the man's head off. "We believed your _mother_ was coming alone as she always does."

"I chose not to disappoint this year. Now pardon us, Mr. Maxwell; I believe I am wanted elsewhere." It wasn't her usual tact, but it would do.

"You don't like him much, do you?" Pip asked as they walked the perimeter of the room, Cora's fingers scraping the wall as she held her hand out.

"I hate him," she said simply, as if noting a bird on a tree branch. "He gives off the impression he's going to molest me." She shuddered, causing the mercenary to grasp her hand more tightly. "I really should just kill him, but that would spark a war."

Pip sat down on a bench on the opposite side of the room to the door. "Just stay away from him. If he touches you, break his arm."

Her response was a happy chuckle. "Thank you, Pip. That means a lot coming from you."

"Miss Hellsing." The deep voice interrupted Pip as he drew breath to reply. "I didn't expect to see ya here."

Her face brightened with a smile. "Father Anderson." She shook the offered hand. "How've you been?"

"As well as can be expected." The priest tightened his grip as Cora made to pull away. "If ya wouldn't mind walkin' with me?"

Unable to release herself short of harming Anderson, she assented. "Excuse me, Pip. I won't be long."

"Take your time," he called after her.

Integra watched from her place beside Alucard across the room, uneasy. Why did Anderson take such an interest in a vampire fledgling? Unless it was for ulterior motives...


	6. Redemption and a New Evil

Title: Crimson Heir

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: -dramatic music- Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to chapter... –checks note card- six! Despite what last chapter seemed, no; there is no love triangle with Cora, Alucard, and Pip/Anderson. Cora's a flirtatious little blood-sucker. It's just her and Alucard. I'd like to take a moment to thank my loyal reviews and watchers for sticking with me, and I hope the next chapters and the ending pleases you. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee what the outcome will be.

9 March 2008: Holy Gods and Megadie! I figure out Anderson's accent. He's a Highlander! I'll see if I can get the accent right in the next chapter.

Chapter Six: Redemption and a New Evil

Immediately after they were out of earshot, Anderson released Cora and spun to look at him. There was something cold about the red-eyed stare she was giving him, something... dead. Then, Anderson mentally slapped himself. Cora Hellsing _was_ dead, or Undead anyway. Still lovely as she had been in natural life.

"Necrophobia."

The single word snapped Anderson out of his reverie. Cora had crossed her arms over her chest and was staring at him with the same doll-like, emotionless expression.

"The phobia of death," she went on, tapping her fingernails on her arm.

Anderson shook his head. "Dunno what you're talking about."

"You're scared," she replied simply. "Scared that what happened to me could happen –"

He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her closer. "I'm not afraid," he growled, bearing down on the Hellsing heir like a wolf over a wounded rabbit.

Cora smirked and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Lying is a sin,_ Paladin_."

He flung her from him and stared at her as she sat up on the ground. "Why would I be afraid of something like you?"

She held up three fingers, white as pieces of chalk, and ticked them off. "You're afraid the time could arise when you have to make the choice I did. You're afraid I may seduce you and turn you into an Undead. And you're afraid of what might have turned a sweet girl like me into a blood-thirsty beast." She smirked at his wince and rose. "I see I've struck a nerve."

Anderson was well-able to remember what Cora had been before the Baptism of Blood, as Abraham Van Helsing had called it. Cute, green, a little on the paranoid side. Not to be unexpected for a girl of sixteen on her own in a foreign country. Now, he felt nothing from her. 'No pulse, no breath, no beating of the heart' to quote Jonathan Harker's diary. It was foolish, but he had the distinct impression of talking to a child's doll when looking into that beautiful mask of a face.

Cora dusted off her dress with an impatient swat of her hand and returned to looking at her living companion. On impulse, she reached out and took his hand, kneeling carefully at his feet. "You're lucky, Father," she whispered. "You don't live with a time bomb inside you, waiting to explode and transform you into a monster. You don't have to struggle to redeem yourself for a moment of selfishness that led to a life of sin. Every step you take doesn't seem wrought with Satan's wishes." For the first time since she'd Turned, tears ran down Cora's cheeks. "Your blessing, Father, please."

Alexander Anderson experienced a moment of intense pity for the poor creature. He hadn't known about the circumstances of her Undeath, and he wished he'd never learned. He placed a hand on her head and closed his eyes, praying for her return to God's Grace. "Rise," he said tersely, removing his gloved hand.

Cora complied, dusting her dress again. She opened her mouth to speak again, the moonlight glinting off her fangs, but Anderson held up a hand and listened. Helicopter blades. But who? They both saw it at once. A helicopter was descending, and painted quite plainly on the door was a swastika. Not the one Cora had carved into her coffin; the mirror-image that was symbolic of the Nazi party.

As if they'd spoken, Anderson and Cora turned heel and ran back to the manor, neither wanting to know what the visit meant. Cora found her mother in the crowd with Alucard nowhere in sight. Perfect, probably out drinking, she thought sourly. There was a deep chill in the air, the likes of which she had never felt before, like pure evil oozing from the very soil she trod on. Unconsciously, so tuned to Alucard at her side, she clutched for his hand. Nothing. He was gone. In his place was Anderson, his hands in fists. Every fiber was tense, and Cora could hear the heightened pulse in his veins; she had never gotten used to hearing that.

"What was that?" she asked him, trying not to sound like a dull child.

"Dinnae know," he replied, his Highland accent palpable. Anderson looked down at her. "Go find yer mum an' leave," he instructed. "I dinnae think this be a place for ye."

Seras Victoria rushed passed them to investigate the sound. The music had stopped, the voices had stopped. Everything was focused on the helicopter. Cora turned to look out the open doors behind her and saw Alucard there, already surveying the scene with Seras by his side. His expression was grim, even for him.

"Cora," he said, "take your mother home."

"But Alu—"

He was suddenly looming over her, his hands gripping her arms. "Do as I say," he growled. "This is no place for her... or you. Your first duty is to remain safe as the Hellsing heir. Your_ second_ duty is to me." Seeing her understanding in her face, Alucard dipped lower and whispered, "Then... until I return... Miss Hellsing." And he kissed her square on the mouth.

As the car sped away, Seras looked up at her master. "What are we to do now, Master?"

Alucard glanced at Anderson, who also stood ready for the reception of the Neo-Nazis. "Leave none alive."

--

A short chapter; I apologize to my loyal readers. But I assume you want some update as of last week, so here you are. I hope it's up to code. I'll be honest; I'm soon to drop the Millennium arc because I really don't get it. I'll go back to good ol' Incognito since – le gasp! – I found an account on YouTube where I can watch Hellsing in English! For those interested, search "AomKing".

-Love ya, mean it!

--Nariko Sasame


	7. Inheritance

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: Glory hallelujah! It's official! Crimson Heir is my most popular story! I thank all my loyal readers. Thank you for putting up with my disappointments of chapters and long pauses in-between. Love ya!

I have a request for my readers. If you have anything negative to say about my story, please give me **constructive** criticism. I'm trying to write my own novel, and this serves as practice. Nothing like "it's crap" or "I don't like it". I want actual help.

That said, I know it's not right, but I'm assuming that the novel Dracula took place in the early 1900s; it makes it easier for me to calculate generations, assuming a generation is roughly 30 years.

This chapter is dedicated to Se-chan, my most loyal and helpful reviewer, and to my loves (yes, love**s**) Noh Seyako and Metanaito, whom I adore with all my heart.

Chapter Seven: Inheritance

Alucard's annoyance was tangible the next evening. There had been no confrontation with the Neo-Nazis. They'd simply hovered over the small band of heavily-armed creatures for half an hour before regaining altitude and chopping off into the horizon. While the others were glad to avoid a conflict, Alucard was angry; he'd summoned so much for a battle that he was on a hair-trigger. It had taken much coaxing and soothing from Cora to finally put his safety back on, so to speak.

Weeks passed without event until Walter brought an interesting story to Integra's knowledge concerning a missing Australian girl and an old story. First coming across the information, he was sure it was a mistake or a coincidence. But the more he read, the more it made sense.

"What is it, Walter?" Integra asked, not even glancing up from her inventory sheet, the pen in her hand scanning down the list.

"It concerns a missing child from Australia, Sir Integra," was his response, still reading the report.

"What concern is it of ours?"

Walter released a breath. "The child was kidnapped almost 19 years ago from her parents in Sydney and taken to Canberra. Shortly thereafter, her parents were killed in an accidental fire, and there were no next-of-kin."

"What's the point of this?" Integra put aside the inventory and looked at her long-time butler seriously.

"The child's name was Elaine Seward."

Integra's eyes went wide. "Dr. John Seward..."

Walter nodded. "His son moved to Australia after his marriage and never returned to England permanently. He was the only child."

"But why tell me about the _missing_ child?" Integra's heart was in her throat; it was a bitter irony if her suspicion was correct.

Walter opened the file in his hands. "'Missing, Elaine Seward. Eighteen months old. Black hair, blue eyes, last seen in green dress with _tattered_ teddy bear.' If this child is alive, she'd be Cora's age."

She sighed heavily. "And you believe this girl is Cora?"

He handed her the photograph provided in the flyer. "Note the bear."

She examined the image carefully and then slowly opened a large drawer and withdrew the same tattered old toy her daughter had been carrying what she came off the plane from Canberra. There were identical down to the rip in the right ear. Integra sighed. "John Seward's great-granddaughter is a vampire. There's a queer irony in it, Walter, like Dracula's final revenge."

Walter nodded. "The queerer irony, Sir Integra, is her relationship with Alucard."

The blue eyes darkened. "I am well aware of that, Walter, and I must say I don't approve of it, but I can't govern her in such affairs. She must trust her own judgment."

"That you've instilled the best of judgment in her is beyond doubt," Walter said. "What you failed to instruct her in is affairs of the heart."

Integra was silent for a moment as Walter poured her a cup of tea. Then, tiredly, she asked, "Shall I tell her of our suspicions, then?"

"I think it would be wise."

Integra found Cora, Seras, and Alucard in the basements, Alucard attempting to teach them how to regenerate. Seras, the older fledgling, was faster in healing and was cleaning her own blood from her arm as Cora sat on Alucard's favorite chair and waited for her first cuts to heal. The weapon was manifestly a silver-bladed knife, because both girls appeared to be in pain.

"Alucard," Integra greeted mildly, her teeth grinding as she watched Cora lick the blood from her arm.

"Master." The vampire's voice was light. "I don't believe I remember you coming down here before."

"I need to speak with Cora."

Dutifully, the younger Hellsing relinquished Alucard's chair and stood in front of it as her mother took a seat. Alucard's form dissolved into that of the hellhound Baskerville and allowed Cora to rest her hand on his head.

After Integra had informed them both of the discovery, Cora stood frozen, staring at her mother with wide ruby eyes and a shaking hand still on the hound's head. Her entire frame began to tremble, and Integra noticed for the first time that her daughter's features had become more hollow, gaunter since the time of her death. As the color drained from her face, the shadows beneath her cheekbones darkened.

"It's a bitter irony," she said at last, "to my great-grandfather's memory that I became that which he destroyed. Excuse me, Mother." She shrank down into the shadows and out of the basement.

"See to her, Alucard," Integra said hollowly. "I'm sure she doesn't want to speak with me now." She felt the link she shared with her daughter was beginning to crumble.

"Yes, Master," was the cool response as Alucard swept off, leaving Integra to sit, wracked with silent sobs, with her head on Seras Victoria's shoulder.

Cora was seated on the edge of Alucard's coffin, staring into space, and looked up with dull eyes as his gloved hand fell onto her head. "I'm not sure I want to follow my great-grandfather's footsteps, Alucard," she said hoarsely. "I'm already here. I'm still learning. I'm still – "

"A fledgling, and you have yet to enter into your own right as a vampire." His hands slid around to gather her close against him. "It is time to make you forget your troubles for now." He almost instantly had her blouse off and was kissing her collarbone as her pale fingers dug into his black hair.

"Alucard!" she gasped in a mix of shock and pleasure as he bit down on her neck. The sluggish path of blood trickled down her collar as he lapped at the stream. "I love you, Alucard."

**-Lemon Scene Removed-**

Cora pressed her forehead to the cool side of the coffin as Alucard began to close the lid. Was she afraid of his hold over her? No, not really; she was more afraid of her mother's reaction. As the other vampire's arms wrapped securely about her, she thought she felt something human in her master as he whispered something in Transylvanian. But it was forgotten as she gave herself to her day-time sleep.

Once his fledgling was unconscious, Alucard shrank out of the coffin and back into his own master's office. Integra was signing the day's paperwork and didn't seem to be any the worse for wear for her moment of weakness in the basement. Glancing up over the top of her glasses, she surveyed Alucard's messier-than-before hair and gritted her teeth.

"I've made it perfectly clear that I do not approve of your relationship with my daughter," she said stiffly. "You needn't go about flaunting the fact that you're sexually involved."

Alucard gave no indication that he took offense to the suggestion, though he did. "She's asleep now, Master." His red eyes flickered over to the reddening sun outside the window. "You shouldn't have told her about John Seward," he said tersely, turning his back. "She won't be much of a vampire with all that self doubt."

Annoyed, she snapped, "You dare lecture me?!"

"Not at all," was the light reply. "I don't dare lecture you, Integra. However you need to give Cora time now to work through what she wants to do."

"What did she say to you, Alucard?" Integra asked after a brief pause.

Alucard hesitated for about ten seconds. "She said she loved me, Master."

--

Okay. Not my best chapter, I know. I chickened out of writing a lemon scene, which I hate myself for, but at the same time, I was using a school computer again. I may redo this chapter to be honest, but with people clamoring for more, I oblige with this sorry excuse. Sorry!

-Nariko


	8. Adio, Draga Mea

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: Something about this chapter is resounding in my life at this moment. If you can guess what it is, you will get a cameo appearance in the next chapter.

Chapter Eight: _Adio, Draga Mea_

Alucard was preoccupied for the next several days; whether from Cora's revelation late in the night as she orgasmed or from his unrelenting thirst was open for debate. Of late, Cora and Seras had been training with Walter, leaving Alucard to his own devices while they practiced aiming and killing only the appropriate targets (something they'd both had problems with in the past).The general consensus among the Hellsing men was Integra had ordered that Cora be kept away from her vampiric master. The distaste rising in her over the sexual relationship between her heir and her vampire had begun to rot inside Integra, causing her to divide her loyalties.

A blood-red moon rose over the Hellsing Headquarters as Cora fluttered along the battlements on the roof. These were the nights that sent her into near-frenzy, the urge to taste the iron of blood so strong she nearly lost control. The moonlight energized her like the sun does a solar battery, her senses buzzing on the brink of fighting. Cora dug a flask of blood from the back pocket of her black jeans and crossed her arms as she drank it to ward off the chill of the night.

She barely registered being seized before she was in the grip of a strong kiss, one hand at her back and the other gripping her hair tightly. Alucard separated from her after a long moment, his eyes wild and almost deprived. He fisted a hand in her red V-neck blouse and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"I wish I knew why you did this," Cora said hollowly, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "You yo-yo me back and forth between a lover and a fledgling, use me for your sexual pleasures, and ignore the fact that I am madly in love with you as you do." The tracks of silver tears carved their way down her alabaster cheeks with a heartbreaking consistency. "So why do you do this, Alucard?"

He had no response. It was all he could do to push away the adoration he had for his fledgling. Despite his grip on her shirt, she managed to slip away, floating along the turrets like a ghost. Now was not the time to request something from her.

"Mother is sending me to Hungary for a while," she said, her back to him and without a trace of emotion in her voice. "Seems there's been a report of a vampire terrorizing a small town." She opened the door leading back inside and vanished through it. The door slammed loudly behind her.

Alucard bent and picked up the red flask she had dropped. The blood that had spilled from it glistened a menacing black in the moonlight. His arm hanging loose at his side, pouring still more donated blood of the Hellsing turrets, Alucard felt a surge of pain in his chest that he hadn't felt for several millennia. He gripped the flask tightly in his white-gloved hand and looked up at the red moon. "_Te iubesc foarte mult_," he whispered in Romanian, harkening back to his original life.

Integra watched the car carrying her daughter and Pip Bernadotte pull away from the house and off into the rain, heading for the train depot. "Have I done the right thing, Seras?" she asked the hovering police-girl. "At least when Cora is concerned."

The buxom blonde nodded slowly. "I think you did all you could, Sir Integra, but there are just some things that you can't guard against."

"You know, there are days I wish I hadn't brought her into this life; that I wish she died in Vatican City after that attack." Integra heaved a sigh and beckoned Seras to follow her to her office.

"You do, Sir Integra?"

Hellsing's Director shrugged. "Maybe she wouldn't have become such a liability."

Walter held an open book in his hands as he stood reading beside Integra's desk. His wrinkled face was already pale and becoming more like chalk as he read. In Hungary's checkered past lay the secret of the vampire Cora and Pip were going to evict. Elizabeth Bathory's crimes and imprisonment all had the earmarks of a vampire. Swallowing his suspicions to share with Alucard later, Walter turned back to Integra and Seras as they entered, the book closing in his hands.

Cora was still dead-asleep when the train lurched to a stop in the Hungarian train station and had to be roused by Pip cutting his finger before they could depart. The largest piece of luggage on the platform from the train proved to be Cora's coffin, which had been packed with Pip's clothes as well as her own and its outer shell manipulated to look less like a coffin. The pair dragged it out to a waiting cab and took off for their hotel.

Pip's attention was drawn to a large, ruined castle perched on a hill high above the town. A lot of the structure had crumbled away, leaving a jagged and ominous silhouette. A shiver passed down his spine as the cab moved slowly up the mountain to a town in the shadow of the castle.

The hotel proved to be an old house, unchanged since the time of Jonathan Harker, and the room procured for Pip and Cora had only one bed. Clicking her tongue disdainfully, she pushed her coffin into the vacant corner of the room and removed the clothing inside. As the pair tucked their clothing into drawers beneath the TV set, Pip glanced out the window at the castle.

"Am I bein' paranoid, or is there somethin' not right 'bout tha' castle?" he asked his companion uneasily.

"You're being paranoid. I'm going up to that old eye-sore to see what or who is up there. I'll be back probably before dark, Pip. You don't have to come with me. I won't be long." She pulled on a pair of black canvas pants and a sleeveless red blouse before grabbing her jacket and hat and leaving.

Pip swallowed and lay down on the bed. How easy would it be to sleep with a coffin beside him?

Cora stumbled over the rocky terrain up to the old castle. The higher she claimed, the colder she felt, and cold was not something she felt easily since her Baptism of Blood. Her breath puffed in vapor over her head as she climbed higher, something dislodging skulls from their places in the soil. Finally, she reached the front door, a massive slab of oak that made a formidable block on her trek. Tentatively, she reached up to push it open.

All at once, the door swung back with a screeching and creaking that deafened her and echoed down into the valley. Unaware of the universal crossing of themselves of the peasants below, Cora looked up to see a tall, stocky man with thinning black hair and old-fashioned clothes holding open the door. His skin was yellowed like the pages of an old book and pulled unnaturally tight across a thinly-boned face. His fingers were long with knuckles like huge bolts on a thin length of pipe or wire. He stood maybe six feet tall, and he smelled of newly-dug earth to Cora's sensitive nose. His eyes were naturally dark and set under a heavy brow. Like an image from an old book, he looked frozen in time as she stood before him, an imposing figure even to her.

"The lady will be with you shortly," he droned in a voice cracking with disuse. "If you would please follow me into the lady's chamber."

Cora had no choice but to obey, a little helpless without the comforting weight of her gun in her pocket; she had been in such a hurry to escape into fresh air that she'd left it in her coffin. Shaking a little as she crossed the threshold, Cora felt transported back in time. The castle looked complete as she followed the butler, whose joints popped audibly. Torches flickered in wall sconces, and rich fabrics draped the walls. The effect was all together eerie, and made even more so by the chill seeping through castle like illness, originating in a walled-up door which opened as the pair approached.

The woman was thin-faced and pale, perhaps mid-50s, with reddish-brown hair piled into an elegant knot on her head and brown eyes hard and cold as ice. Her dress was seventeenth-century finery reserved for nobles, Cora observed as she rose from her seat in front of a large vanity. The coppery scent of blood skirted about the room from an open jar on the table. The woman's hand extended toward Cora, and she shook it, ignoring the sudden stiffness of the body she was addressing.

"I don't mean to impose," she began carefully. "I wasn't aware the castle was in habitation. I only came up here to see what I could see of the valley." An awkward lie, but one worth using. "I didn't mean any harm, ma'am. I'll gladly see myself out so I don't disturb you."

Cold fingers gripped her thin chin and turned her face from side to side slowly as the woman studied Cora's bone structure and features. Then her fingers, hands, arms, and neck were examined in the same fashion, giving the vampire fledgling chills. Finally, in Hungarian (but Cora still somehow understood), the noble lady spoke to her butler:

"She will do. Take her to the chamber."

Cora shuddered. "M'lady, please. I have a place in the village. Just give me your leave and I'll – Let go of me!" she demanded as the footman's hand suddenly grasped her wrists and bound them behind her with a length of twine that itched wretchedly.

She was forced into a chamber with a thick iron door on rusty hinges. There were no windows, and the only source of light was the flickering torches on the gray stone walls. The door was thrown shut as she hit the hard stone of the floor inside, the clang echoing through her skull like a death gong. Cora hammered the door until her hands bled, but there was no sign of escape. Weakened by the sun, she licked her wounds for the nourishment she needed to survive the imprisonment in the turret of the old castle.

"I'll be fine," she said in a shaking voice that echoed in the prison. "I'll be fine. It's a mistake, that's all." Her eyes were adjusting to the dark, and she found herself faced with the horrid sight of skeletons and decaying bodies chained to the walls by their wrists. All the victims were female, and they had wounds that would have bled profusely. Yet there was no sign of blood on the floor.

"Al-Alucard," Cora stuttered, closing her eyes and hugging herself. "Alucard, where are you? I'm so frightened. So, so very frightened..." She trailed off in sobs. "Alucard, please come rescue me. Please come find me. Please!"

But Alucard didn't come.

Note: Translation time!!

-"Te iubesc foarte mult" means roughly "I love you so much".

-"Adio, Draga Mea" means roughly "Goodbye, my dear".

-And yes, that was indeed the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. What will be the Hellsing heir's fate? Will she be bled dry by a vampire that was walled up in a room until her death? All that and more in the next chapter of Crimson Heir! And don't forget my challenge to you. You'll get a cameo in this story! See ya soon!

-Nariko Sasame

And remember; **you get no new chapters if I don't get actual feedback**. That's the way I roll, boys an' girls.


	9. Dawn

Title: Crimson Heir

Summary: Unable to have an heir herself, Sir Integra adopts a girl fit for the job. However, things get sticky when Alucard is forced to make his next master like him.

Note: Yay, Se-chan! The ONLY person to give me a good analysis. And of course, she was right. At the time I was writing Chapter 8, I was in a rocky position with my boyfriend, who had dumped me and then kept pulling me between a friend and something more. Doesn't matter now though.

This will be one of (if not) the last chapter of Crimson Heir. I've had a good run, yeah, but my interests are beginning to run toward stuff like Supernatural, Torchwood, Doctor Who, CSI, and NCIS. So keep on the look-out for more stories by yours truly. On with the show!!

Chapter Nine: Dawn

Pip had scaled the steep side of the mountain faster (and more recklessly) than the sure-footed Cora had and now stood staring down into the valley below, carefully scanning the sides of the cliffs. Of course, there was no sign of the Hellsing heir, except her footprints to the door of the castle. They vanished from there, with nothing leading into or away from the ruin. If he lost Cora, Integra would have his ass on a platter before he could say "Ah damn".

Captain Wyatt Harding was standing at the brink of the shear drop like a sentinel over its post. He was a tall blonde man, one of the few soldiers who'd managed to survive more than a year with the Hellsing Organization. Usually, one of the agents barely lasted a few months before they were killed in the line of duty. He removed the sunglasses from his brown eyes and looked over at where Pip knelt in the dirt, staring at the footprints on the crumbling doorstep.

"She can't dissolve yet, can she?" Harding asked as he put away his glasses into his back pocket. "Y'know, like Alucard likes to."

Pip shook his head. "Nah, he hasn't taught her yet. She's still gotta walk."

Harding's lips twitched into an uncomfortable smirk. "Not sure if that's a good thing." He knew what the Hellsing heir was, and he knew what she could learn to do. For now, though, she wasn't a danger to her allies. Only her enemies.

"Tried going in?" Harding asked finally and took the few steps up to the entrance where little Miss Hellsing vanished.

"Yeah," answered the mercenary. "Nothing but rock dust."

"One can only enter on a blood moon." The soft voice, quivering in fear, came from behind the two men. The speaker was a tiny young woman, no longer than a ten-year-old child, in baggy clothes and a shawl over her whispy blonde hair. Her tiny hands clutched at her baggy sweater.

Harding nodded and turned to Pip. "Tomorrow," he said. "Around here, a blood moon is the day before and after the full moon." He cast a glance at the small woman. "Is that right?"

The woman nodded her head once. "For tonight," she said in her halting way, English not being her first language, "lock your doors and windows. The Countess hunts tonight." She made a gesture with her hands, like she was brushing them away. "You must hurry! The sun is going to set!"

Following the young woman back down over the rough terrain, Harding asked, "What's your name?" He grabbed a rock as the ground under his feet slid away into open space. This side of the mountain was steeper than the way they'd come up, but this side faced the village and was still drenched in dying sunlight.

Her china-doll face appeared around the boulder she had just circumnavigated. "I am Szabina," she answered before once again vanishing into the dirt and dust of the landscape. 'Like a mountain goat,' thought Harding bitterly as he dangerously increased his pace for fear of losing sight of their ally. Pip swore and scrambled along behind him.

Back inside the tower dungeon, Cora felt the presence of the Countess leave the castle and grinned to herself that it felt warmer. Lifting herself from her corner, she crawled over to the heavy wooden door and placed her ear to it. Silence. Weak from lack of blood, she tried to drag the door free of its casing but only succeeded in exhausting what energy she'd saved up. Cora slumped against the wall again and lay her head at the feet of one of her skeletal roommates.

She couldn't die like this, not caged like an animal waiting the slaughter. A wave of panic – pure and sharp as ice – washed over her, tightening her weary muscles to the peak, ready to spring. Cora leapt into the reaches of the roof, grabbing a heavy wooden beam and hauling herself onto it. In her frustration, she let out a high-pitch scream that might have shattered eardrums had she had company. Then, fully spent, she crawled down the wall and crashed again before one of the other victims. The blood of the old castle began to seep into her body...

Alucard's ear pricked up, and his gaze went east, toward the darkest part of the growing night sky. He'd distinctly heard the squeal of a bat, even though there was none to be found. No, not a bat; it sounded female, frustrated. He frowned. The more he sifted the sound, the more it sounded like Cora. His limbs cramped suddenly, as if he hadn't fed in days. Fear bubbled up inside him, and tears threatened to choke him.

"Cora!" Alucard gasped, dissolving through the shadows to the turrets where he'd last left her. As fast as the pain and emotions had appeared, they vanished, leaving a chilling ache that truly frightened him. His master needed him, and damn his orders to stay away from her!

_"I never wanted this to happen," Cora whispered, her body like lead. She was still sprawled out on the floor with whispy tendrils of old blood snaking into her body like water into a sponge. "I was doing my job, my duty as a member of the Hellsing Organization and the Hellsing family. How can God be so set against me? I Changed only to live, to continue my family's legacy."_

_"But you aren't a Hellsing," whispered a syrupy sweet voice of black silk, enfolding her like a blanket. "You're a Seward by blood. Your family's involvement with vampires and the Undead ended with the stake through Lord Dracula's heart!"_

_"That's not true!" Cora screamed. "I am a Hellsing to the bone, to my last breath!" Her arms gained the shaky strength to support her, and she forced herself into a seated position. A burst of light – moonlight? – ringed her in her prison, a spotlight._

_"You're a monster, a creature unworthy the kindness of God!" It was Anderson's voice this time, hard and menacing._

_"I am His loyal servant!" She staggered to her feat, pressed to the wall in the spotlit circle. "I walk the path He laid before me!"_

_"Who are you really?" Alucard's face materialized out of the darkness directly in front of her. "Who are you, child of the night?"_

_"I am Cora Malandra Alucard Hellsing," she said firmly, able to stand on her own now, "servant of God and Her Majesty, the Queen on England. Daughter of Sir Integra Fairbrook Windgates Hellsing, heir of the Hellsing Organization, and a vampire under the guidance of my master Alucard. I know who I am – "_

_"Then live, Hellsing!" snarled the voice of Anderson again._

The night of the full moon had been Hell for the Hellsing operatives in the little hotel. Pip paces incessantly from the time the sun dipped below the horizon until Wyatt Harding pushed him onto the bed in irritation. The next day absolutely snailed by, an hour stretching into a day, and night falling over the course of a week. Finally, as the last edge of the sun sank, the two men leapt from their beds and pelted out of the hotel. Harding noticed by the blood-red sky that Alucard must be there before them.

Alucard stood with head sunk on his chest and his Jackal grasped in a nerveless arm, his lips quirked into a smirk. "I haven't fought one like you in a long time, _Countess _Bathory." He sneered her name like he wanted to spit out the taste of it. "Your thirst is legendary. I suppose I should thank you for gracing me with your presence."

Across the cliff, on the doorstep of her castle, stood the Countess, her regal head high and her eyes full of malice. "And who are you to speak to me in such a familiar manner?" she sniffed, her left arm beginning to blur in preparation of a transformation.

"Me?" asked the Hellsing vampire and lifted his head. "Why, I'm your executioner."

"You are a commoner," said the Countess dismissively. "It is I who will destroy you." With that, she flew at him, her arm a scythe of sharpened bone, ready to behead. His Jackal's bullet ricocheted off the surface like a rubber ball on a cement wall.

Alucard sucked his teeth in distaste; she was old enough to be powerful, but she was a glutton, taking blood only for the pleasure of it. She didn't train, didn't cultivate her skills. She would be a difficult fight, but a boring one. He let the scythe shave him in two, his arm dropping to the ground with a wet thud. He morphed, liquefying himself into a black puddle which then bubbled to form the Hellhound Baskerville. He sprang at his enemy, his jaws wide. His many eyes set her in their sights and honed in for the kill.

She leapt aside, striking him with her skeletal arm at the same time. Baskerville gave a snarl and snapped, taking the tip off with his jaws. The Countess hissed in fury and threw herself at him, taloned hands snapping at his throat...

She shrieked as a large black cat, the size of a panther with six eyes glowing red demonic anger seized hold of her cloak and threw her backward toward the cliff. It sprang, pinning the distorted figure of the Countess to the edge of the cliff with claws like razors. Baskerville threw himself forehead, his mouth opening to emit Alucard's gloved hand and Jackal. It belched two rounds into the Countess, who convulsed twice, shrieked like a demon in Hell, and dissolved into white ash.

The demon cat turned on Baskerville with teeth bared, double canines razor-sharp and deadly. Baskerville's form bubbled and broiled until it was that of Alucard once more. He reached out, removing his glove.

"Drink," he ordered softly.

The bite hurt, but the pain was pleasurable, the demonic cat sure in its lapping, the eager swallows. Like a man dying of thirst, it drank until Alucard withdrew his hand, the bitemarks gone. The cat gave a whine and blurred until Cora knelt before him, her clothing in tatters and her face smeared with blood. She dissolved into tears and threw herself into his arms.

"My master," Alucard cooed softly. "My poor, darling master."

"Alucard," Cora said as she and her master stood on the decaying stone steps of the now-vacant castle a few hours later, "you know we'll end up together eventually."

"I do," he acknowledged and brushed the hair from her face with a white-gloved hand. Alucard knew by instinct that she wasn't finished speaking, and he went silent to allow her to finish her thought.

"You'll always been my master, and I'll always be yours." She chuckled. "We're quite a pair, you and I." Her crimson eyes rolled up to his face. "That's how it will stay for now. I trust you, and I know you'll catch me when I fall, but right now, I still have so much more to learn." Her fangs glinted in the moonlight as her lips parted in a smile. "Besides, there's someone else for now."

Alucard smirked and bent his head to lick a spot of blood from her nose. "He's coming up the mountain as we speak." The crunching footsteps, muted curses, and falling rocks floated up the side of the mountain nearest the village below.

She allowed herself to kiss him for a moment, but she stepped away before he could draw her in. "_Până la acea zi_," she whispered and turned in time to see Harding and Pip clamber over the lip of the cliff. With long, quick strides, Cora flew across the space between and met Wyatt Harding for a kiss.

The End.

Ending note: That is _technically_ the end of Crimson Heir, because the next chapter will be drabbles about what happens in the future to Integra, Alucard, and Cora. Thank you all for being so faithful in your reviews. You've all been wonderful, and I owe you much for staying with me. Thank you especially to Se-Chan, who has been my most loyal reviewer and reader since this fic was published. We of the Hellsing Organization thank you for the bottom of our hearts.

_"Până la acea zi" _is Romanian for "until that day".

-Nariko Sasame


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